March 4, 2010 by RVBusiness · Comments Off on Travel Trailers Focus of New Brunswick Show

The 9th Annual Moncton RV Show in Moncton, New Brunswick, will be in full swing at the Moncton Coliseum Friday through Sunday, according to the Moncton Times and Transcript.

The complex will be jam-packed with the latest models and styles from the leading RV dealers in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Over 50 different lines will be represented with over 150 units on-site.

“We had around 7,000 people out last year,” says Scott Sprague, show manager for Master Promotions. “And the dealers moved between 120-130 units during that time. To put it in perspective, that translates to something like $3.5 million worth of merchandise just with trailers alone.”

Which is the point; the trailers that people really want will be on display.

“People nowadays come with an idea in mind,” says Dave Myers, who works in sales at the CRC RV Center. “They do the research on the Internet or they have been RVing for a while.

“It makes our job easier; all they have to do is come here and check the actual product out.”

The show will also include two opportunities to win prizes. Action Truck Caps is having a drawing for $500 worth of towing accessories, while Master Promotions is having a “$10,000 for 2010” drawing. Anyone who purchases an RV at the show will be entered in a draw for $10,000 cash in hand. That makes your odds for winning possibly as low as one in 100.

“This is really a great way to start the RV year off,” says Matthew Brown of Pine Acres RV. “Our Prince Edward Island store has participated right from the beginning and the Moncton store has been in it for the past seven years.

“The show gets people in the mood for camping. It starts the season off with a bang. We will have 30 different trailers there for people to look at, the largest display, and all new models.

“We are only bringing haul-able trailers; and focusing on a variety of lightweights because that is a big thing these days; they are fuel-efficient and smaller vehicles can haul them.”

Matthew says that their best-selling units are probably the Cougar fifth-wheel and the Esprit travel trailers. But they will bring everything from trailers for families with a ton of kids, right down to Ma and Pa units.

The people from CRC RV Center have gone to the show every year and use it as the new model launch for their products.

“It is great to have the show because you never know what the weather is going to be like in the spring,” Dave says, “and here we can put the trailers inside, open them up, and everyone can walk through and compare. It is one-stop shopping.”

And the new products have exciting features. CRC RV Centerwill bring in a Jayco trailer, for example, which has a second, outside kitchen. You open up a panel on the outside and there is a fridge, a sink, a stove — everything you need.

“If it is sunny and hot, you can cook outside,” says Dave. “It is interesting and a really great feature.”

Both Dave and Matthew have noticed some changes over the years. For example, “the age demographic is definitely getting younger,” Matthew says. “We see a lot of people in their 30s (RVing), where a decade ago it would have been all people in their 50s.”

“We also find that a lot of people are buying them now and just parking them,” says Dave. “A trailer is becoming like a cottage; they pick a place that is an easy commute and, instead of hauling a big trailer around and having to buy a truck, they have an accessible vacation.”

“What you are going to get here,” explains Scott, “is a microcosm of the Maritime RV industry. Instead of having to travel to all three provinces, you can come here and shop for all your products and compare them side to side, under a roof, where it is warm and dry.

“We already did the Halifax version of the show, and the sales were up close to 30% over last year,” he says. “I think that those buyers who did not purchase last year because of hesitancy in the market are turning around and buying now; it is still as popular as ever.”

“And with the strong Canadian dollar, our prices are actually lower than last year,” says Dave. “There has never been a better time to buy.”